Carmen, Chœur Des Enfants « Avec La Garde Montante »

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Carmen, Chœur Des Enfants « Avec La Garde Montante » Carmen, chœur des enfants « avec la garde montante » Georges Bizet Romantique France 1875 Cycle 1, Cycle 2, Cycle 3 04'25" Genre : Vocal, Musique symphonique, Opéra Thème : La marche, L’amour L’œuvre (ou l’extrait) : Cet extrait de Carmen se situe au début de l’opéra, acte I scène ii. Il s’agit d’une bande d’enfants imitant les dragons au moment de la relève de la garde, sur une place à Séville. Carmen est un opéra-comique (des scènes parlées servent de liaison entre les morceaux musicaux, le présent extrait en donne un exemple) en quatre actes sur un livret d’Henri Meilhac et Ludovic Halévy d’après la nouvelle de Prosper Mérimée. La première représentation se déroule à Paris à l’Opéra-Comique, salle Favart, le 3 mars 1875. L’accueil du public reste réservé, voire hostile : ce sujet sur une femme libre heurte la bourgeoisie de l’époque, certains journaux comparent même l’héroïne à une « femelle vomie de l’enfer ». Néanmoins, l’opéra devient rapidement populaire et il est aujourd’hui l’œuvre lyrique la plus jouée au monde. Carmen a inspiré plus d’une quinzaine de cinéastes, dont Cecil B DeMille, Charles Chaplin, Ernst Lubitsch, Otto Preminger, Carlos Saura, Jean-Luc Godard, Peter Brook…, sans parler du film de Francesco Rosi avec Julia Migenes, Plácido Domingo et Ruggero Raimondi, ou de la comédie musicale Carmen Hip Hopera avec Beyoncé. Auteur / Compositeur / Interprete : Enfant précoce, issu d’une famille de musiciens, Georges Bizet entre très jeune au Conservatoire de Paris où il étudie le piano, l’orgue et la composition. Attiré par le théâtre, il gagne – ex aequo avec Charles Lecocq – un premier prix à un concours de composition d’opérette organisé par Jacques Offenbach (Le Docteur Miracle). À l’âge de dix-neuf ans, il remporte le très prestigieux prix de Rome. De retour d’Italie, il gagne sa vie comme enseignant et compositeur. Ses premiers opéras, Les Pêcheurs de perles et La Jolie Fille de Perth, remportent un certain succès. Toutefois, L’Arlésienne, musique de scène pour le drame d’Alphonse Daudet, est un échec. Convaincu de la qualité de sa musique, Georges Bizet réécrit cette œuvre sous forme de suite pour orchestre symphonique, qui remporte depuis un succès ininterrompu. En 1875, le directeur de l’Opéra-Comique lui demande une « œuvre facile et gaie avec une fin heureuse ». Carmenvoit le jour non sans mal. Atteint d’une angine dans les semaines qui ont suivi les représentations, Bizet, contre l’avis de ses proches, part se baigner dans la Seine près de sa demeure à Bougival. Victime d’un choc hypothermique, il décède trois mois après la première désastreuse de Carmen. Auteur de l'oeuvre : Compositeur : Bizet Georges Interprète : Arrangeur : Formation instrumentale : Solistes vocaux (quatre femmes, six hommes), chœur mixte, chœur d’enfants, orchestre symphonique – chœur d’enfants, orchestre symphonique pour l’extrait concerné. Les clés de lecture : La scène se passe sur une place à Séville, devant un poste de garde et près d’une manufacture de tabac. « Le chœur des gamins » intervient au moment de la relève de la garde. Ce passage est marqué par le mouvement des personnages en présence : gardes, passants curieux et arrivée de la garde montante. Il s’agit d’une marche militaire qu’on entend venir de loin. Bizet joue avec : • les timbres instrumentaux pour caractériser la musique militaire ; cornets à piston ou trompettes en place et lieu de clairon ; piccolo qui rappelle le fifre et les onomatopées reprenant le « taratata » imitant le clairon ; • des nuances pour marquer le mouvement et agrandir l’espace scénique ; au début, on entend les sonneries lointaines dans une nuance piano (et jouées en coulisse), puis une augmentation de l’intensité et des jeux d’écho vont affirmer le mouvement et la spatialisation de ce moment musical. La musique en elle-même est mise en espace. Texte : Avec la garde montante nous arrivons, nous voilà ! Sonne, trompette éclatante ! Ta ra ta ta ta ra ta ta. Nous marchons la tête haute Comme de petits soldats, Marquant, sans faire de faute, Une, deux, marquant le pas. Les épaules en arrière Et la poitrine en dehors, Les bras de cette manière, Tombant tout le long du corps. Avec la garde montante Nous arrivons, nous voilà ! Sonne, trompette éclatante ! Ta ra ta ta ta ra ta ta. Ta ra ta ta ra ta ta Ta ra ta ta ta ra ta ta. Une analyse musicale : • Mesure 1 à 16 0’ à 0’16’’ ¤ Sonnerie militaire au cornet à piston ¤ Piano puis bis forte • 17 à 32 0’16’’ à 0’32’’ ¤ Introduction du 1er thème aux flûtes piccolo ¤ Deux fois avec ponctuation des phrases au piston • 33 à 48 0’32’’ à 0’46’’ ¤ Thème aux flûtes piccolo transposé plus grave (tierce) ¤ Accompagnement cordes en pizzicati (cordes pincées) Piston en arrière-plan • 49 à 64 0’46’’ à 1’02’’ ¤ 2e thème au piston soutenu par trombone et triangle ¤ Contre-chant aux piccolos soutenu par les bois plus fort • 65 à 76 1’02’’ à 1’13’’ ¤ Motifs du 1er thème en alternance aux bois et cordes ¤ Ponctuation au piston puis crescendo des bois et cordes • 77 à 92 1’13’’ à 1’28’’ ¤ 1er thème aux voix Entrée du chœur bien rythmé ¤ Accompagnement Cordes et ponctuation des phrases aux bois • 93 à 108 1’28’’ à 1’43’’ ¤ 1er thème transposé 2e partie du texte ¤ S’ajoute à l’accompagnement de grandes gammes et trilles aux flûtes • 109 à 124 1’43’’ à 2’00’’ ¤ 2e thème Onomatopées fort doublées au piston ¤ Accompagnement cordes pizzicati Bois Triangle • 125 à 136 2’00’’ à 2’12’’ ¤ Motifs du 1er thème Toujours rythmé et crescendo ¤ Alternance cordes/bois, ponctuation piston, percussions • 137 à 147 2’12’’ à 2’24’' ¤ 1er thème conclusif Coda sur onomatopée ¤ Tout l’orchestre Ajout des cymbales Et fin fortissimo Exploitation pédagogique possible : Pratique vocale et chorale : • apprendre « Le chœur des gamins » ; • chercher des chansons imitant des sons d’instruments ; • jeux vocaux autour des onomatopées liées à l’imitation d’instruments de musique. Engagements du corps et mise en scène : • organiser un défilé en chantant à la manière des soldats et en s’appuyant sur le texte du chœur. Écoute comparative : • écouter des musiques militaires et définir leurs caractéristiques musicales (rythmes et instrumentation) et leurs fonctions (accompagner les troupes, fêter la victoire…). Informations complémentaires : Remarquable dossier pédagogique réalisé en collaboration avec Sébastien Bouvier, enseignant missionné à l’opéra de Lille à l’occasion d’une nouvelle production de Carmen lors de la saison 2009-2010 : On y trouve notamment la partition du « Chœur de gamins » pour voix seule. On peut voir le manuscrit d’un extrait de Carmen, « La habanera ». Cinéma • A burlesque on Carmen, film de Charlie Chaplin 1916 • Carmen Jones d’Otto Preminger • Carmen de Carlos Saura Arts plastiques • Représentation picturale de Carmen : faire une recherche iconographique. Références discographiques : Carmen. Petits chanteurs à la Croix de bois, Orchestre du Théâtre national de l’Opéra de Paris, dirigé par Raphael Frühbeck de Burgos. EMI / EMI Classics Auteur de la fiche pédagogique : Michèle Petit » Retrouver toutes les offres légales de musique en ligne.
Recommended publications
  • The #Operaclass Education Kit
    the #operaclass Education Kit #operaclass Education Kit: Carmen 1 Table of Contents Introduction to the Education Kit for Carmen ................................................................................ 3 Is Opera Relevant? ........................................................................................................................ 4 What To Expect From Carmen ....................................................................................................... 5 The Story ...................................................................................................................................... 6 The Background ............................................................................................................................ 8 Who’s Who in Carmen .................................................................................................................. 9 Key Elements of the Story ........................................................................................................... 10 Activity 1 - Carmen ...................................................................................................................... 11 Classroom Activity – ‘Love is a rebellious bird’ – Carmen’s Habanera .................................................... 11 Activity 2 – ‘Sweet memories of home’ ....................................................................................... 14 Classroom Activity –‘Parle moi de ma mere’ .........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Georges Bizet
    Cronologia della vita e delle opere di Georges Bizet 1838 – 25 ottobre: nasce a Parigi Alexandre-César-Léopold, figlio di Adolph-Armand, modesto maestro di canto, e di Aimée-Marie Delsarte, buona pianista. Il bambino sarà poi battezzato col nome di Georges. 1847 – Frequenta come uditore il corso di pianoforte di Antoine-François Marmontel. 1848-52 – Al Conservatorio di Parigi studia contrappunto e fuga con Pierre Zimmermann, allievo di Cherubini; segue anche qualche lezione con Charles Gounod, che influisce fortemente sulla sua formazione. Sviluppa le doti di pianista continuando a studiare nella classe di Marmontel e ottiene diversi premi riservati agli allievi. 1853 – Alla morte di Zimmermann, frequenta i corsi di composizione di Jacques Halévy. 1854 – Prime composizioni: Grande valse de concert in mi bemolle maggiore e Nocturne in fa maggiore. 1855 – Ouverture in la minore, Sinfonia in do maggiore, Valse in do maggiore per coro e orchestra. 1856 – È secondo al Prix de Rome con la cantata David . 1857 – L’operetta in un atto Le Docteur Miracle , vincitrice (ex equo con Charles Lecocq) di un premio offerto da Offenbach, debutta con successo al Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens. Con la cantata Clovis et Clotilde il compositore si aggiudica il Prix de Rome: può così godere per cinque anni di una sovvenzione statale e soggiornare per due anni in Germania e in Italia. 1858 – In gennaio raggiunge Roma. Si stabilisce a Villa Medici, sede italiana dell’Académie Française che ospita i vincitori del Prix de Rome. Scrive un Te Deum e in estate va in vacanza sui Colli Albani. Musica un libretto di soggetto italiano, Don Procopio , che invia all’Académie Française.
    [Show full text]
  • Christopher Diffey – TENOR Repertoire List
    Christopher Diffey – TENOR Repertoire List Leonard Bernstein Candide Role: Candide Volkstheater Rostock: Director Johanna Schall, Conductor Manfred Lehner 2016 A Quiet Place Role: François Theater Lübeck: Director Effi Méndez, Conductor Manfred Lehner 2019 Ludwig van Beethoven Fidelio Role: Jaquino Nationaltheater Mannheim 2017: Director Roger Vontoble, Conductor Alexander Soddy Georges Bizet Carmen Role: Don José (English) Garden Opera: Director Saffron van Zwanenberg 2013/2014 OperaUpClose: Director Rodula Gaitanou, April-May 2012 Role: El Remendado Scottish Opera: Conductor David Parry, 2015 (cover) Melbourne City Opera: Director Blair Edgar, Conductor Erich Fackert May 2004 Role: Dancaïro Nationaltheater Mannheim: Director Jonah Kim, Conductor Mark Rohde, 2019/20 Le Docteur Miracle Role: Sylvio/Pasquin/Dr Miracle Pop-Up Opera: March/April 2014 Benjamin Britten Peter Grimes Role: Peter Grimes (cover) Nationaltheater Mannheim: Conductor Alexander Soddy, Director Markus Dietz 2019/20 A Midsummer Night’s Dream Role: Lysander (cover) Garsington Opera: Conductor Steauart Bedford, Director Daniel Slater June-July 2010 Francesco Cavalli La Calisto Role: Pane Royal Academy Opera: Dir. John Ramster, Cond. Anthony Legge, May 2008 Gaetano Donizetti Don Pasquale Role: Ernesto (English) English Touring Opera: Director William Oldroyd, Conductor Dominic Wheeler 2010 Lucia di Lammermoor Role: Normanno Nationaltheater Mannheim 2016 Jonathan Dove Swanhunter Role: Soppy Hat/Death’s Son Opera North: Director Hannah Mulder, Conductor Justin Doyle April
    [Show full text]
  • Carmen Production Photo by David Bachman
    Pittsburgh Opera 2015 Carmen production photo by David Bachman Carmen: Shocking character, successful opera by Jill Leahy Libretto by Henri Meilhac Henriand Halévy by Ludovic Libretto French composer Georges Bizet was named Alexandre César Léopold Bizet armen ● at birth and grew up surrounded by music—his father was a singing teacher and his mother a fine pianist. A prodigy, Bizet was accepted into the Paris C Conservatoire at the age of nine; his teachers included Antoine-François Marmontel, Fromental Halévy (one of the founders of French grand opera, whose daughter Bizet married), and the composer Charles Gounod. In 1857, at the age of 19, Bizet wrote an operetta Georges Bizet (Le Docteur Miracle) for a competition organized by Jacques Offenbach. Bizet shared the first prize, Miracle was staged, and his name became known in Music by Music by the best musical circles. He attended Rossini’s famous Saturday evening soirées and won the Prix de Rome from the Académie de Musique. After three happy years in Italy, Bizet returned to Paris and unhappiness. He had few successes, his mother died, and his first opera of any significance in Paris, The Pearl Fishers (1863), was praised by Berlioz but disparaged by most others. Bizet’s only success was The Pretty Maid of Perth (1867), which earned praise at the time but is rarely performed today. (1838–1875) Georges Bizet In 1873, the Opéra-Comique in Paris commissioned Bizet to write an opera. He chose Prosper Mérimée’s novella Carmen (1845) and worked closely with librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. Carmen faced many obstacles e to the Opera in reaching the stage—many considered the story too salacious for public performance, and critics denounced Carmen as immoral even before it was complete.
    [Show full text]
  • 11-17-2018 Pecheurs Eve.Indd
    GEORGES BIZET les pêcheurs de perles conductor Opera in three acts Emmanuel Villaume Libretto by Eugène Cormon and production Penny Woolcock Michel Carré Saturday, November 17, 2018 set designer Dick Bird 8:00–10:30 PM costume designer Kevin Pollard lighting designer Jen Schriever projection design 59 Productions The production of Les Pêcheurs de Perles movement director Andrew Dawson was made possible by a generous gift revival stage director from the Gramma Fisher Foundation, Stephen Pickover Marshalltown, Iowa Additional funding was received from The Annenberg Foundation; Mr. William R. Miller, in memory of Irene D. Miller; and American Express general manager Peter Gelb A co-production of the Metropolitan Opera and jeanette lerman-neubauer English National Opera, originally created by music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin English National Opera 2018–19 SEASON The 15th Metropolitan Opera performance of GEORGES BIZET’S les pêcheurs de perles conductor Emmanuel Villaume in order of vocal appearance zurga Mariusz Kwiecien* nadir Javier Camarena leïl a Pretty Yende nour abad Nicolas Testé Saturday, November 17, 2018, 8:00–10:30PM MARTY SOHL / MET OPERA Pretty Yende as Chorus Master Donald Palumbo Leïla and Javier Musical Preparation Howard Watkins*, J. David Jackson, Camarena as Caren Levine*, and Bryan Wagorn* Nadir in Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles Assistant Stage Director Gina Lapinski Prompter Caren Levine* Fight Director J. Allen Suddeth French Coach Bénédicte Jourdois* Aerial Effects Consultant Lee Stephenson Met Titles J. D. McClatchy Assistant Scenic Designer, Properties Scott Laule Scenery, properties, and electrical props constructed and painted in Metropolitan Opera Shops Costumes executed by Metropolitan Opera Costume Department; additional costumes by Giuseppina Coviello, Madeleine Fry, and ENO Production Wardrobe Wigs and Makeup executed by Metropolitan Opera Wig and Makeup Department This production uses strobe light effects.
    [Show full text]
  • Le Docteur Miracle De Georges Bizet
    PAROLE ET MUSIQUE & LE COLLECTIF LE FOYER PRESENTENT Le Docteur Miracle de georges Bizet SPECTACLE TOUT PUBLIC A PARTIR DE 6 ANS DUREE : 1H05 Œuvre de jeunesse de Georges Bizet, cet opéra de poche à la fois poétique et léger convoque l’esprit des théâtres forains et des guignols de notre enfance. Voyage fantasque dans un univers inspiré de Magritte, c’est l’occasion idéale pour faire découvrir et redécouvrir à tous le grand opéra et sa magie. « A notre bonheur en ce jour, Nous ne connaîtrons plus d’obstacle, Grâce au Docteur Miracle, Grâce au miracle de l’amour. » Contacts Renaud Boutin : [email protected] / 06 24 12 52 33 Jean Rossier : [email protected] / 06 76 81 88 89 Le Docteur Miracle Opéra comique (1857) Musique de Georges Bizet Livret de Léon Battu et Ludovic Halévy Direction musicale : Françoise Tillard Mise en scène, scénographie et costumes : Renaud Boutin Lumière : Pierre Daubigny Distribution Clémentine Bourgoin (Laurette) Renaud Boutin (Podestat) Marion Gomar (Véronique) Charles Mesrine (Silvio) Françoise Tillard (piano) Francine Trachier (violon) Étienne Lamaison (clarinettes) L’histoire Laurette et Silvio, fringant capitaine de la garnison de Padoue, sont amoureux. Mais le père de la jeune fille, le Podestat de la ville, et sa belle-mère Véronique s’opposent catégoriquement à ce mariage. C’est sans compter sur les talents de comédien et de cuisinier du rusé prétendant. A l’occasion d’une fête foraine qui plante ses tréteaux sous les fenêtres du palais, Silvio, sous le déguisement d’un inquiétant charlatan, se jouera de l’autorité paternelle et de ses angoisses hypocondriaques, faisant triompher le seul vrai miracle qui soit : celui du théâtre et de l’amour.
    [Show full text]
  • Study Guide for Carmen 2015.Pub
    Did you know this about Carmen ? Pittsburgh Opera by Jill Leahy Education thanks our generous supporters: American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. Bayer USA Foundation The Frick Fund of the Buhl Foundation by Pyotr byKonchalovsky, Pyotr 1944 The Jack Buncher Foundation Carmen, Carmen, Dominion Foundation Eat ‘n Park Hospitality Group, Inc. ESB Bank First Commonwealth Financial Corporation Israeli Opera http://www.classicfm.com/music-news/latest-news/israeli-opera-stages-carmen-desert/ The Grable Foundation Diseñoparala ópera de Bizet Carmen: Shocking character, successful opera The Hearst Foundation by Jill Leahy Hefren-Tillotson, Inc. CIGARETTE FACTORY The opening scene of Carmen Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield French composer Georges Bizet was named Alexandre César Léopold Bizet Libretto Meilhac Henriby and Ludovic Halévy takes place outside a cigarette factory in Seville. This was The Huntington National Bank ● at birth and grew up surrounded by music—his father was a singing teacher an actual place, which once employed 6000 women as Intermediate Unit #1, Pennsylvania and his mother a fine pianist. A prodigy, Bizet was accepted into the Paris cigarette makers. The building still stands and, since the Department of Education Carmen Conservatoire at the age of nine; his teachers included Antoine -François 1950s, has been the seat of the rectorate of the University of Levin Furniture Marmontel, Fromental Halévy (one of the founders of French grand opera, Seville. It is a splendid example of industrial architecture Martha Mack Lewis Foundation whose daughter Bizet married), and the composer Charles Gounod. from the era of Spain’s Antiguo Régimen. People’s Natural Gas Reed Smith LLP In 1857, at the age of 19, Bizet wrote an operetta HABANERA Bizet was very particular about Carmen's first The Techs - MetalTech (Le Docteur Miracle) for a competition organized by aria, the “Habanera”, which means a “dance from Havana.” Triangle Tech Group Jacques Offenbach.
    [Show full text]
  • Bizet's Music
    Bizet’s Music It is one of the great tragedies of opera history that composer Georges Bizet’s short life was filled with so much pain, and that his short creative career would be marred by a crisis of confidence that affected his composing output for over a decade. However his name is immortal, if only for the creation of his final operatic masterpiece,Carmen . Just before his 10th birthday Bizet was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire, getting special dispensation as he had not reached the regulation age of entry. Once enrolled he continued to impress, and earned the admiration of the great French composer Charles Gounod. Bizet returned that admiration and, although in later years he would be critical of that composer’s work, Gounod’s style had a powerful effect on Bizet. The young student earned some money on the side by arranging some of Gounod’s music for him, an enterprise he would fall back on in later years when his composing failed to earn him enough money. Bizet was also a very talented pianist: as a young adult he attended a party where Liszt was present. Larisa Kostyuk as the title role in Carmen (COC, 2005). Bizet sight-read a very Photo: Michael Cooper challenging piece by the composer, who declared Bizet one of the three greatest pianists in Europe. * operetta: A genre of light opera, both in In 1855, at the age of 17, Bizet completed his Symphony in terms of music and subject C, a remarkable achievement, even moreso considering his matter, often featuring youth.
    [Show full text]
  • CARMEN Composer Biography: George Bizet
    CARMEN Composer Biography: George Bizet Born in Paris on October 25, 1838, Georges Bizet was registered with the legal name Alexandre-César-Léopold Bizet, but was baptized Georges Bizet and was always known by the latter name. He entered the Paris Conservatory of Music a fortnight before his tenth birthday. Georges Bizet's first symphony, the Symphony in C Major, was written there when he was seventeen, evidently as a student assignment. It seems that Bizet completely forgot about it himself, and it was not discovered again until 1935, in the archives of the Conservatory library. Upon its first performance, it was immediately hailed as a junior masterwork and a welcome addition to the early Romantic period repertoire. A delightful work (and a prodigious one, from a seventeen-year-old boy), the symphony is noteworthy for bearing an amazing stylistic resemblance to the music of Franz Schubert, whose work was virtually unknown in Paris at that time (with the possible exception of a few of his songs). A second symphony, Roma was not completed. In 1857 a setting of the one-act operetta Le docteur Miracle won him a share in a prize offered by Jacques Offenbach. Georges Bizet also won the Music Composition scholarship of the Prix de Rome, the conditions of which required him to study in Rome for three years. There, his talent developed as he wrote such works as the opera Don Procopio. Apart from this period in Rome, Bizet lived in the Paris area all his life. His mother died shortly after his return to Paris.
    [Show full text]
  • Beethoven's Fifth Saturday, January 18Th and 19Th, 2020
    Beethoven’s Fifth Saturday, January 18th and 19th, 2020 Rolando Miranda Temporal Variations, Beethoven Revisited (b. 1948) Georges Bizet Carmen Fantasia for Two Trumpets (1838-1875) arr. Donald Hunsberger Fanfare; Entracte to Act IV La Fleur Que Tu M’avais Jetee Entry of the Gypsies Habañera and Toreador Song Gypsy Song (Les Tringles des sistres) Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 (1770-1827) Allegro con brio Andante con moto Scherzo and Trio Allegro Ronaldo Miranda, born in 1948 in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, studied piano and composition at the Escola de Música da Universidade Federal. Winning first prize at the II Biennial of Brazilian Contemporary Music in 1977 led to his being chosen as Brazil’s representative the following year in Paris at the Unesco International Rostrum for Composers. In 1982 the State of São Paulo Symphony Orchestra commissioned Symphonic Variations, and over the next several years he began to receive acclaim internationally. His works have since been performed at Queen Elizabeth Hall (London), Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Mozarteum (Salzburg), and Carnegie Hall. Among his diverse compositions are pieces for two pianos and percussion, flute trio, clarinet and percussion, solo piano, woodwind quintet, orchestra with chorus, as well as operas and concertos. He is currently teaching composition in the School of Communication and Arts of the São Paulo University. Temporal Variations, Beethoven Revisited (Variacoes Temporais, Beethoven Revisado) was published in 2014. Romantic in orientation, the Variations consist of brief sections of contrasting tempos and moods. Occasional glimpses of Beethoven, such as the “Waldstein” Sonata and the scherzo of the “Choral” Symphony, give the composition its subtitle.
    [Show full text]
  • Hr-131 Booklet
    176.4 KHZ 24-BIT MUSIC HRX® GEORGES BIZET SYMPHONY IN C JEUX D’ENFANTS VARIATIONS CHROMATIQUES MARTIN WEST SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ORCHESTRA izet lived 36 years, dying three months after the production of Carmen. Biographers recount that having walked the streets of B Paris after the first night his opera premiered, Bizet mourned the failure of his Carmen, so disillusioned, he retired to his home to die of a broken heart. Not quite true. Carmen received 37 performances in its first season, but did not immediately win extraordinary success, this came later. In reality, Bizet’s death came after the 33rd presentation of Carmen. He suffered from angina pectoris (a chest discomfort that occurs when the heart is not getting enough blood). Bizet died in Switzerland during such an attack. Bizet was born Alexandre César Léopold, October 25th 1838, in Paris. His godfather, disregarding the impressive appellation, called the baby “Georges”, and Georges Bizet he was from that time forth. George’s father was a teacher of singing. His mother was a pianist. By four, Georges was showing such an acute response to music that his mother began teaching him notes along with his ABC’s. Georges enjoyed the game, and before long, was singing and playing the piano. It was clear to his parents that he had outgrown home instruction. However, the Paris Conservatoire did not accept children. Nevertheless, his father convinced Conservatoire officials to audition Georges. Playing 3the piano well, sight-reading RECORD- with ease, and naming INGS any chord or interval, he astonished the officials. Within weeks Georges was admitted.
    [Show full text]
  • |What to Expect from Carmen
    | WHAT TO EXPECT FROM CARMEN “EVERY WOMAN IS BITTER AS BILE, BUT EACH HAS TWO GOOD MOMENTS,” THE WORK: begins the epigraph to Prosper Mérimée’s novella Carmen, the plot source for CARMEN Georges Bizet’s immortal opera. The “two good moments” that the author An opera in four acts, sung in French cites—the first sexual, the next in the grave—establish with offensive economy Music by Georges Bizet the central concerns of the work: desire and death, and their dangerous Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy combination in the female sex. And few operas offer up such luxuriant depic- Based on the novella by Prosper tions of both as Carmen. Brazenly seductive, unrepentantly exotic, recklessly Mérimée strong-willed: The character of Carmen is expertly crafted to trigger the First performed on March 3, 1875 at anxieties of 19th-century Europe around the role of women. And yet she has the Opéra Comique, Paris, France enthralled the world’s imagination for more than a century and a half, with PRODUCTION her story told in flamenco, in hip-hop, in settings from the Netherlands to Louis Langrée, Conductor South Africa, in a “Tom and Jerry” cartoon, and in more than 70 films by Sir Richard Eyre, Production directors as diverse as Charlie Chaplin and Jean-Luc Godard. Rob Howell, Set & Costume Designer Bizet must have craved the notoriety that such a choice of subject matter Peter Mumford, Lighting Designer would provoke, particularly in a work for Paris’s Opéra Comique, which was Christopher Wheeldon, then the bastion of sentimental, formulaic, and utterly inoffensive dramas.
    [Show full text]